United Kingdom
January 2020
Sofar Sounds: Charting the next stage of growth
By Julian Birkinshaw, David Mather, Bryan Stroube, Aharon Cohen Mohliver
This case traces the development of a live entertainment company, Sofar Sounds, from a conversation among three friends about their frustrations with live music events, through early success and now to a point where the CEO, Rafe Offer, has to make important decisions about its future growth. Sofar ...
June 2017
Propay Ltd (B)
By Keith Willey
Rick Stein is faced with taking rapid action to both save his business and at the same time take advantage of a surprise exit opportunity. As usual there’s a cash squeeze but should the business take more money and if so where from and on what terms?...
January 2018
ProPay Ltd (A)
By Keith Willey
Rick Stein gazed out at Propay Ltd’s car park where his fifteen-year-old car now languished.A year ago ProPay’s previous owner parked his Maserati in the exact same spot – a contrast that seemed oddly symbolic of Rick’s current predicament. He had bought the payments gateway business after r...
August 2018
Pret A Manger (A-D)
By Rupert Merson
This case series takes us through the story of Pret A Manger, one of the first up-market sandwich bar chains in London. The series explores the founding of a business as an entrepreneurial venture and then its growth both nationally and internationally and the problems this brings. It touches on man...
August 2018
NakedWines.com
By John Mullins
Thanks to its somewhat whimsical yet measurement-driven culture, its unusual customer-funded business model, and its committed community of winemakers and wine 'angels', NakedWines had grown rapidly, from a standing start in 2008 to a substantial presence in three of the world's most attractive mark...
January 2014
Kweku Adoboli at UBS
By S. Wiley Wakeman, Celia Moore
The UBS case outlines how individual ambition and lax organisational standards and oversight can lead to consistent unethical behaviour resulting in a crippling loss at a large investment bank. Even though the industry had as recently as 2007 been subject to the ramifications of similar behaviour wi...
November 2012
innocent Drinks: Maintaining Socially Responsible Values During Growth (B)
By Celia Moore, Luis Fischer, Mike McCarthy
This is part of a case series. This case explores the process a social venture went through in raising funds to expand its business. The case focuses on the risks and opportunities of possible funding methods, and actions that can be taken to protect key values throughout the process. The case provi...
November 2012
innocent Drinks: Maintaining Socially Responsible Values During Growth (A)
By Celia Moore, Luis Fischer, Mike McCarthy
This is part of a case series. This case explores the process a social venture went through in raising funds to expand its business. The case focuses on the risks and opportunities of possible funding methods, and actions that can be taken to protect key values throughout the process. The case provi...
January 2013
Endomagnetics
By John Bates, Jeff Skinner, Oliver Rivers
The case explores the methodologies for valuing an early stage, IP based business. Endomagnetics is a university spin-off based on technology from University college London. By the time of the case the business has raised (and largely spent) a seed round and is about to raise ‘Series A’. The new...
January 2013
Eight19 (B) Azuri Technologies
By Jeff Skinner, Tom Ryan
Eight19 is a technology-based start-up company based on Cambridge Science Park. The company is developing a new (and very low cost) solar-panel technology aimed primarily at domestic use in developing countries. The case describes the issues faced by eight19 as it develops a business model for the n...